| From Galax, Virginia we travelled across North Carolina to Hillsborough to visit Downtown Hillsborough, the site of Occoneechee Speedway and Burwell School.
Hillsborough, North Carolina The town of Hillsborough is the county seat of Orange County, North Carolina and is located along the Eno River. The population was 6,087 in 2010. Its name was unofficially shortened to “Hillsboro” during the 19th century. In the late 1960s, residents voted to change the name back to its original, historic spelling. There are numerous historical sites to visit in Hillsborough, including some dating to the late eighteenth century. More than 100 surviving late eighteenth and nineteenth-century structures help illustrate its history of prominence in the early period of the state. In addition, numerous secondary buildings, bridges, mill sites and dams along the Eno River document the local history. Native American relics have been recovered from the sites of ancient villages thousands of years old. Two historic sites visited were: Occoneechee Speedway, just outside Hillsborough, was one of the first two NASCAR tracks to open in 1949. It is one of the two tracks remaining from that inaugural season. Martinsville Speedway is the other. The Historic Occoneechee Speedway Trail (HOST) is a 3 mi (4.8 km)-trail located on 44 acres (180,000 m2) at the site of the former Speedway. The Burwell School Historic Site is located in Hillsborough. The original house was built by John Berry, circa. 1821. The house became property of the Hillsborough Presbyterian Church and in 1835 the home was provided to Reverend Robert Burwell and his family as the parsonage. The Burwells came to Hillsborough from Petersburg. When they arrived, they came with their two children, Mary and John Bott, as well as a young slave girl named Elizabeth “Lizzie” Hobbes (Keckly), later to go on to purchase her freedom and become the personal dressmaker and confidante of First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln. Source: Wikipedia |
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Typical Railroad Bridge (American Style)
Hillsborough
The Dickson house, a late-18th century Quaker plan house is considered “The Last Confederate Headquarter” as it was where Joseph E. Johnston housed in 1865 as he planned the largest troop surrender of the Civil War. The house was moved from its original location to its present location in the early 1980’s.when it was threatened by retail development. The site also includes an outbuilding, probably used as General Johnston’s office and a 19th century medicinal and culinary and herb garden.
Historic The Colonial Inn – as it was in 2011 and below – renovated and re-opened in 2020
Burwell School
Occoneechee Speedway
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